Health Mysteries Solved

The Case:  Leila has been dealing with Hashimoto’s, Lyme and Crohn’s disease for years.   She was managing her symptoms through a strict regimen of supplements, diet, and various practitioners. Emotionally, she was feeling disconnected, discouraged, and joyless. We so often focus on the biochemistry side of autoimmune issues that we forget the importance of taking care of our emotions and connection to life. In other words, there’s more to feeling good than just the physical.  The Investigation Getting to the root of health issues, especially chronic and mysterious ones, is quite multi faceted. We really have to address it from all angles. While biochemistry is important, it's just one part and there are many areas that also play a very large role. This was what was missing for Leila and felt it was going to be important for her to really connect with herself and discover her true self.  This is not always easy so to help out, I invited a self-discovery coach to join me on this episode of Health Mysteries S

The Investigation I know how confusing and frustrating it can be living with hypothyroidism and or Hashimoto’s because there is so much information out there about Hashimoto’s and hypothyroidism.  At the same time, there is also not that much that really focuses on these specific conditions. This is why I get so many questions every time I check in with you through Instagram and my email list. After posting in my IG stories this week, I got a ton of questions and I am so excited to answer them for you. Before I do, I want to remind you that Hashimoto’s and thyroid issues are very individual - there is no ‘one size fits all’ solution. That’s why I created a much more in depth training and you can access it absolutely free RIGHT HERE!  Let’s dive into your questions. I got over 300 questions, but many of them were similar or around the same theme so I’m focusing on the most frequently asked questions in this episode of Health Mysteries Solved.   The Question #1 How can I lose weight with hypothyroidism or Hashi

In our last episode, we introduced you to Allison. She was dealing with:  Allison was dealing with brain fog, fatigue, and joint pain. She felt much older than her chronological years. Labs showed that her B vitamins, iron, and thyroid were all fine but her symptoms persisted. We spoke with Jason Earle who is the founder and CEO of 1-800-Got-Mold and has appeared as an expert on The Dr. Oz Show, Good Morning America, and Extreme Home Makeover. In that episode, he gave us so much great information about mold and debunked a whole bunch of myths around mold, how to test for it, and how to get rid of it. If you haven’t listened to that episode, I highly recommend that you go back and give it a listen.  In this episode, we dive into how to regain your health once you’ve cleared the mold out of your house and have reduced exposure.    Exposure to Mold Through Diet Many of the symptoms related to mold exposure revolve around inflammation. Despite having dealt with the environmental exposure to mycotoxins and mold

The Case:  Allison was dealing with brain fog, fatigue, and joint pain. She felt much older than her chronological years. Labs showed that her B vitamins, iron, and thyroid were all fine but her symptoms persisted.   The Investigation When I met Allison, I decided to check her thyroid again but everything really was normal. We talked about a lot of other possible root causes but when she told me that things had gotten worse after she moved to her new house, I started to suspect that her issues may have something to do with her environment. It was time to see if there was mold in her house.    Indoor Air Quality Crusader and Mold Expert Jason Earle is the founder and CEO of 1-800-Got-Mold as well as the creator of the Got Mold Test Kit. He’s appeared as an expert on The Dr. Oz Show, Good Morning America, and Extreme Home Makeover. Jason is passionate about mold because his childhood in a moldy farmhouse resulted in several health issues for him.    What is Mold? Jason explains that mold is, on a very basic l

Health Hindsight Anyone who has struggled through a health mystery and finally solved their issues will undoubtedly wish they’d known sooner what was really going on. Who hasn’t thought, ‘If only I knew then what I know now’. I’ve been through so much with my health over the last 25 years. Not to mention the over 17 years in clinical practice! I can definitely say I know a lot more now than I did when this all started.  In this podcast, I say, ‘the answers are out there’ and they are. Part of the reason I do this podcast is so that more people can skip ahead to the part where they know more and their health and healing journeys can be less stressful, frustrating, and painful. For this episode, I’d share a few of my lessons - the things I wish I knew or did sooner because of how it helped me feel better. Maybe you can learn from my mistakes (or life lessons) so you can avoid them and heal faster.  Here are the top 5 things that made the biggest difference and really moved the needle for me and my health:   Gi

The Case:  Meghan O’Rourke spent years describing her symptoms to her doctor only to be told it was something inconsequential or all in her head. After years of feeling alone and abandoned by the system she started to see a functional medicine practitioner. Finally, she was getting the real answers to what was going on but it took years to undo the damage done by dismissing the issues. She wrote a book about her experience to help others feel less alone.    The Investigation Many people dealing with autoimmune diseases or rare genetic issues find themselves beyond the textbooks of traditional medicine.  This can lead to being given false diagnosis (like, dry skin or hormonal shifts due to menses), or being sent off to specialist after specialist without any diagnosis. When you are caught in this loop, it seems like treating the issues is impossible and the journey can be emotionally draining.  The most heartbreaking part is that women who find themselves in this situation start to question if there are any

The Case:  Lynn has Hashimoto’s and experiences fatigue, brain fog and mood swings. She takes thyroid medication and various supplements but still struggles to feel well. She’s frustrated because she eats well and follows a good thyroid protocol without the results.   The Investigation When I met Lynn, I saw that her TSH was fluctuating so we needed to stabilize her immune system. She was already following much of my advice with her diet and supplements. There were a few minor improvements we could make but my sense was that something else was playing a role in addition to her biochemistry.   What is a Psychoimmunologist? If you’ve never heard the term psychoneuroimmunology (sometimes referred to simply as psychoimmunology) it is the study of how the mind can affect the immune system.  Dr. Mario Martinez, a best-selling author is a thought leader in the field of psychoneuroimmunology with his books, “The Mind-Body Code: How the Mind Wounds and Heals the Body” and “The MindBody Self: How Longevity Is Cultura

The Case:  Amanda is dealing with digestive issues, brain fog, fatigue, and weight gain. She was diagnosed with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome but doctors said there was nothing to be done besides get used to it. She tried changing her diet, which helped, but it left her obsessing over food.   The Investigation When I met Amanda, I knew there were underlying issues. Her doctors told her it was in her head, and I suspected they were right but not in the way they meant. I wanted to explore the gut-brain connection and find out if it was having an impact on Amanda’s digestive issues.    Digestive Health and Hypnotherapy Mention hypnotherapy and most people will think of the Hollywood version of it where an audience member is hypnotized and made to cluck like a chicken. This is not the practical application of hypnotherapy, as my guest, Angela Privin explains in this episode.  Angela had her own journey with IBS in her 20s and 30s. She was able to improve her digestive health natura

The Case:  Alexandra’s everyday was determined by the state of her stomach She was often bloated, gassy, and struggled to keep her weight healthy She tried restrictive diets, tried over the counter gas remedies, digestive enzymes, and various probiotics but nothing gave her long-term relief   The Investigation It was clear that there was something going on with her gut and it seemed likely that dysbiosis was at play. I knew her microbiome needed support but, I also suspected that with everything she’d tried, we needed to approach the solution methodically as there was likely more than one thing going on.  Gut issues and the state of our microbiome plays a huge role in how we feel physically but it can also seriously impact our mental health, organ health, immune system, and our ability to lose or maintain a healthy weight.    Wheat Belly Author’s Latest Book When it comes to understanding gut health and addressing Alexandra’s problem, I knew that one of the best people to talk to would be the author of the

The Investigation Thyroid issues are not a one-size-fits-all. If you’ve been listening to my podcast for a while, then you know I talk a lot about hypothyroidism and Hashimoto’s because I see so many people struggling with these issues.  One of the main reasons they struggle is because traditional medicine tends to treat hypothyroidism one way - by measuring TSH and then medicating to get TSH back into range.  There is so much more to optimizing the thyroid and the key is to take a more individual approach.  The best news is that you can balance your thyroid and your immune system and you CAN feel good again. You can feel like the old you, the pre-war you as I call it, when your body was not battling itself every day. Yes, it is possible to be: Full of energy Reach and maintain your ideal weigh Sleep well every night Have great skin and hair Think clearly (no more brain fog) But this can only happen when you look at your thyroid not from the perspective that it is slow, but more about what type of slow down

The Investigation Women experience a range of physical and emotional changes when they enter the perimenopause stage. These symptoms vary greatly from person to person and may include:  Hot flashes Night sweats Low libido Increased anxiety Not sleeping well Low energy Weight gain Menstrual cycle irregularities Cyclical headaches or migraines Mood swings Memory loss  Brain fog Vaginal dryness Urinary tract infections  Hair thinning For a lot of women, they hold the false belief that this is something they have to suffer through. There are treatment options out there but with conflicting reports and information, it can be a challenge to figure out the right one. This confusion and fear is another reason that so many women resign themselves to just suffering through this period of their life.  In episode 96 of Health Mysteries Solved, we spoke with Dr. Jim Hrncir about this issue. The response I got from that episode was fantastic but I could see that there were more questions too. So, I decided to invite Dr.

The Case:  Sarah is struggling to lose weight and has been for years Every year she makes resolutions and goals but she never sticks to them She wonders if she hasn’t found the right diet protocol or supplement As the new year dawns, many people will be like Sarah - vowing that this is the year they eat better, get fit, commit to self-care… but then the new year's resolve dissolves before the end of January.    The Investigation To better understand why our goals and resolutions fail, I invited Tanya Dalton on the show. Tanya is a best-selling author, speaker, and productivity expert. She’s the CEO of inkWELL Press Productivity Co. They provide tools that work as a catalyst in helping people do less while achieving more.  She shared that about 81% of people don't follow through on their New Year's resolutions and 23% drop off in the first week alone.    Why Do New Year’s Resolutions Fail? Tanya says that one of the main reasons New Year’s resolutions fail is because we do them in a hurry to meet the deadlin

The Case:  Pam is dealing with brain fog, poor concentration, and fatigue. Tests revealed that she was low in Folate and Vitamin B12. Weeks of taking Vitamin B Complex didn’t help her symptoms at all. A little more research helped Pam understand that not all B vitamins are the same - some are synthetic while other options are natural and in methylated forms. Inspecting the B Complex vitamin she’d been taking, she discovered that the B12 was in the cyanocobalamin form and the folic acid was also synthetic. You might think the mystery was solved at this point, but after finding a methylated B Complex at the local health food store, and taking it for several weeks, her symptoms persisted. She increased her dosage, but after several weeks, she felt even worse.  Her labs showed that she was deficient in B vitamins, so why weren’t her supplements working?   The Investigation This is something I commonly see and while B vitamins are wonderful, they come in many forms but they are not ‘one size fits all.’ And there

The Case:  Jenny went on the pill as a teenager to regulate her irregular and heavy periods. After 20 years on the pill, she decided to start a family. Going off the pill led to fatigue, insomnia, hair loss, acne, and when her periods returned after 3 months, they were painful, heavy and irregular. Her symptoms led her to suspect hypothyroidism but her levels came back normal.   The Investigation The first thing I did when I started working with Jenny was to run a full thyroid panel. While her TSH was normal, as her doctor had said, her free hormones were off. I knew that there had to be a connection between Jenny’s long history with birth control pills, her menstrual issues, and her thyroid but was the thyroid causing the issue or did the pill create a thyroid problem? To discuss this further, I reached out to Emily Sadri. She’s a board-certified women’s health nurse practitioner and midwife who runs a functional medicine practice for women in Cleveland, Ohio. She specializes in abnormal bleeding, perimeno

The Investigation Thyroid issues can be so frustrating because often doctors will say there is nothing to be done other than taking medication. We talk a lot about hypothyroidism and Hashimoto’s Disease (an autoimmune disease that attacks the thyroid resulting in not enough thyroid hormone) but there is another side to thyroid issues.  It is also possible for there to be too much thyroid hormone being produced. This is called hyperthyroidism and the autoimmune disease that can cause this is Graves' Disease.  But it is also possible for those with Hashimoto’s disease to experience periods of hyperthyroidism - which just adds to the thyroid mystery.  In this episode of Health Mysteries Solved, we’re exploring hyperthyroid symptoms in Graves' as well as in Hashimoto’s. To help with this discussion, I invited fellow clinical nutritionist, Juli Keene, on the show. She’s based in Los Angeles and has been in practice for over 25 years often helping professional athletes and high-functioning folks with complicated he

The Case:  Jessica has Hashimoto’s Disease and can’t seem to balance her thyroid Her doctors say her levels are fine but she’s experiencing bloating, fatigue, hair loss, GI issues, and brain fog. She met with several doctors but none were able to address her concerns.    The Investigation When I met Jessica, I knew that we had to go beyond supporting the thyroid, we had to slow or stop the attack on her immune system. There are many triggers and Jessica had already cut out gluten. This was great but that told me we had to dig deeper.  I noticed that Jessica came from a family of farmers and had quite a bit of exposure. Figuring out her specific triggers was how we were going to solve her autoimmune mystery.  Autoimmune Triggers and Glyphosate I talk a lot about the four most common triggers for autoimmune disease and they are: stress, toxins, infections and foods. There is one thing that intersects with all four of these triggers - glyphosate. To explain it fully, I invited Jeffrey Smith on the show. He is

The Investigation As we head into cold and flu season during the second year of the pandemic, it’s important to provide support for your immune system - especially if you have an autoimmune disease like Hashimoto’s, Lupus, MS, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Type 1 Diabetes, Addison’s, Grave’s, and Celiac disease.  As someone with Hashimoto’s and who works with a lot of people with Hashimoto’s I’ve created a protocol that I have been updating month after month and here is my latest version. This protocol is great for overall immunity and best of all, it is absolutely safe and recommended if you have an autoimmune disease as well.    Herbs & Supplements to Avoid with Autoimmunity I always need to remind those with autoimmunity that the supplements you often hear about for supporting the immune system can do real damage if you have an autoimmune disease. These supplements stimulate the immune system. For those with autoimmunity, an overstimulated immune system can lead to flare ups.  Here are the commonly suggested s

The Case:  Denise has Hashimoto’s and hypothyroidism and has been trying to balance her thyroid for years. She tried Synthroid, Levothyoxine and Armour but these left her feeling ‘off’. It seemed impossible to find something that would get her T4, T3 and TSH levels into range and give her ample energy.  I knew that while she was on the right track, we needed a slightly different type of approach to solve her health mystery. When the standard solutions don’t work, you might need to go custom.    The Investigation I immediately thought of the work that Jim Hrncir has been doing with compounding thyroid medication. This is something he is incredibly passionate about ever since his own wife had challenges similar to Denise’s.  You may recall that Jim was on a previous episode talking about compounding hormones for treating menopause and perimenopause. It’s episode 96 if you missed it.    Typical Thyroid Treatment I talk a lot about Hashimoto’s and hypothyroidism on this show. When we talk about treating the th

The Case:  Mara has sleep issues, anxiety and overall malaise. She struggles with vitamins, supplements and detoxes as they leave her feeling worse. Multiple experts tried to tell her it was part of the process, but she never got better.   The Investigation I have many clients who tell me they are very sensitive to supplements and we have to pay close attention to their support but Mara’s case was more extreme. I knew we had to avoid detoxes but still get her results without overtaxing her very sensitive body. I knew just the method to start solving this health mystery -- flower power.    Flower Power is Not Just for Hippies Katie Hess is a flower alchemist. She uses flower essences to help people regain their health. She is the author of Flowerevolution and founder of LOTUSWEI, one of the world’s leading floral apothecaries. With her signature elixirs featured in The Oprah Magazine, The New York Times and the LA Times, her flower-powered community is thriving today in over 15 countries.  Using flower essen

The Case:  Eliana is dealing with stubborn weight issues.  She’s also experiencing bloating and weight gain around her period. She worked with several dieticians and found that a calorie restricted diet did reduce her weight but it wasn’t sustainable and left her feeling tired.    The Investigation Eliana’s challenge is a common one. Many women find that despite eating right and being active, they struggle with unexplained weight gain or an inability to lose weight. There are a lot of things that can cause weight gain or make weight loss very difficult. To find out what was the root of Eliana’s weight loss mystery, we needed to explore the most common causes.  Esther Blum is an Integrative Dietitian and High-Performance Coach who has helped thousands of women permanently treat the root cause of their health struggles and find joy in their lives once again. Esther is the bestselling author of Cavewomen Don’t Get Fat as well as The Eat, Drink, and Be Gorgeous Project.   Doing Everything With No Weight Loss Mi